■ Diplomacy
Saca promises support
Salvadoran President Tony Saca yesterday pledged to support Taiwan's campaign to join the UN and other international organizations despite opposition from China. Taiwan welcomed Saca with a 21-gun salute as the former sportscaster and media magnate made his first visit since taking office in June. Saca told President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) that El Salvador would continue to support Taiwan's UN bid. "We have always advocated the right of Taiwan to be represented at the United Nations and in more multilateral organizations, and this shows the close cooperation which exists between our countries," Saca said. Taiwan and El Salvador are "geographically far apart, but we hold the same intentions of democracy and freedom for our peoples," he said.
■ Human Rights
Groups protest to IOC
Allegations that Taiwan's freedom of speech is being muffled by China at the Athens airport sparked a complaint to Olympics officials by two European human rights groups on Tuesday. Olympic Watch chairman Jan Ruml said the groups are "extremely concerned" that China's pressure may have prompted airport officials to block or remove Taiwan's promotional posters and billboards. Rogge was asked to publicly denounce attacks on free speech and protect Taiwan's rights. The groups also asked the IOC "to take this stand right through to the end of the 2008 Olympic Games" which are scheduled for Beijing.
■ Arms Purchase
Budget to be reduced
The defense ministry aims to slash about 16 percent off the budget for the planned NT$610 billion (US$18.2 billion) arms purchase from the US after lawmakers said the controversial package was too expensive, Minister of National Defense Lee Jye (李傑) said yesterday. The ministry proposes scrapping a project to transfer technology on submarine construction, which would have cost nearly NT$73 billion, Lee told reporters. About NT$20 billion was expected to be cut from other areas, he said, without giving details. Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) meanwhile asked the US to lower the price of the arms package.
■ Defense
Armed forces stage drill
Taiwan's armed forces staged a drill simulating an invasion by China yesterday, as a military computer exercise showed that Taiwanese troops could withstand a similar onslaught for just six days. The scenario of the maneuver, the first of two rehearsals for a major exercise to be held on Aug. 25, was that Taiwanese troops had failed to hold off an amphibious landing by Chinese forces, TVBS cable television showed. As Taiwan's troops tried to stop simulated Chinese forces from pushing further inland, a fleet of US-made Cobra and OH-58D Scout gunships fired laser-guided Hellfire missiles while howitzers and tanks fired on targets.
■ Diplomacy
Macau director returns
The director of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in Macau will return to Taiwan on Aug. 16 to be transferred to the Mainland Affairs Council. His Macau post will be temporarily filled by his deputy, Lin Cheng-kuei. Tsai Chi-chung (蔡之中), who arrived in Macau in April 2001, said that his work over the past three years has been easy, due to the support of many friends in the former Portuguese colony, although there is still room for development.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as